The Republican Unicorns and Reality

Remember 2000? Bush spent a good bit more in resources in California than any sane person thought prudent. He lost California.Republicans have, for a long time, been losing California. Ahnuld (writing it this way so I don’t have to look up the proper spelling of his last name) has largely been a fluke. He came to power in 2003 during the Gray Davis debacle and won re-election largely by becoming a Democrat.Nonetheless, Republicans keep spending money to win statewide in California. Look at the NRSC’s commitment to Carly Fiorina.Compare California to Massachusetts. That state is probably as tough as California, but it has elected a string of Republican governors from Bill Weld to Mitt Romney — it has had Republican governors who have behaved more Republican than Ahnuld and have won within the last decade.But while the GOP has been standing behind Carly Fiorina in California in pursuit of the mythical GOP win there, the same cannot be said of the GOP helping Scott Brown in Massachusetts.I think we should take a serious look at Scott Brown.The odds are he won’t win. Let’s be realistic about it. But let’s also remember Joseph Cao could not win William Jefferson’s district in Louisiana — until he did. And unlike Cao, were Scott Brown elected to the United States Senate, he’d be the 41st vote against Obamacare.The election in Massachusetts is a special election. Odd things can happen in special elections. Massachusetts has a high number of independent voters. There are a number of liberal voters so upset with Obama for ditching the public option they’re willing to support Scott Brown as a public rebuke to the President. Lastly, the state has a base of Republicans who still remember how to win statewide elections.The odds are against Scott Brown, but only slightly. This race is winnable. Before you dismiss it or dismiss Scott Brown because he is a New England Republican, just remember — we still need 51 votes to control the Senate. Scott Brown gives us one. He may be like Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins and hack us off frequently on domestic policy issues, but he’s right on health care and he seems more right than not on foreign affairs.And Scott Brown‘s victory would give Barack Obama a huge black eye.Just sayin’.